Columbus Day was created to celebrate Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America and to appease Italian Americans. Unfortunately, since then there has been plenty of evidence collected that Columbus did not “discover” anything. Of course North America was already occupied by native peoples, but if we are talking about white Europeans, Vikings had been there hundreds of years earlier. Beyond that, the arrival of European settlers on a more permanent basis eventually resulted in a genocide of sorts for the Native Americans and their culture. The same can be said for the diverse, rich, natural landscape that was disfigured as European settlements grew west, eradicating many species of plants and animals along the way.

So now I ask you: Why are we celebrating something that didn’t happen in the way we thought it did and was the start of so much destruction?

Ok, so I will give you that Columbus was the first white man to discover some islands in the Caribbean.

Maybe I’d care more if I actually got the day off work, but in general it isn’t a real holiday. Everyone who is not in the service industry gets real holidays off. Why have it otherwise, when half to three quarters of the workforce still works on that day? Are people in government jobs or some companies more deserving than the rest of us? I think not, but I digress…

If you are going to have a holiday make it a holiday for everyone to enjoy…And honor someone more deserving. Here in Denver we changed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. No disrespect, Italians, but you can find a better hero to honor.

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CURRENT THOUGHTS…

It's basic math and a simple understanding of economics, environmental factors, resources, and human needs: As long as our world population continues to grow, our collective way of life on Earth will grow more complex and stressful, and our society will deteriorate. If you haven't already noticed that in your lifetime you are either too young or a part of the problem.

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